Cure: Force a crisis that will either fix or kill your lame project.
Why it Works: You need to deal with lame projects aggressively, before somebody else does. Because, believe me, somebody eventually will deal with the lame project, and it will not be pleasant.
A lame project is one that is underfunded, ill-defined, set up to fail, has lukewarm support from management, or something similar. You cannot afford to be associated with lame projects, for many reasons:
- The stigma of the lame project can rub off on you and limit your career.
- The lame project might get terminated abruptly, leaving you scrambling to find another job either inside or outside the company.
- At the very least, a bad project will sap your energy and enthusiasm for your work. And this will certainly diminish your performance on the job.
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Learn to spot a lame project quickly, and then fix, kill, or avoid it. |
- Where is the spec? If there is no spec, it's not a project, it's an activity. A very bad sign.
- Who is the customer? If there is no lead customer who you know will buy the thing you are working on, that is a bad sign.
- What is the ROI? It had better be reasonable, and positive, with upside.
- Where is the schedule? Are we on schedule? If there is no schedule, run away!
- What is the budget? Are we under budget? Projects that are over budget draw attention from high-level executives, often far removed from the details of what you are doing. Not good.
Hopefully the project shapes up (good), or it goes away and you are assigned to a new, better project (also good). Either way, you win by being proactive and aggressive.
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